The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Metasequoia plant botanically known as Metasequoia glyptostroboides and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name ‘WAH-08AG’.
The new cultivar originated in a controlled breeding program in Seneca, S.C. during the summer of 2007. The objective of the breeding program was the development of Metasequoia cultivars having greater heat and sun tolerance.
The new Metasequoia cultivar is the result of open-pollination. The female (seed) parent of the new cultivar is ‘Ogon’ also known as ‘Gold Rush’, not patented, characterized by its golden foliage that withstands summer heat and vigorous, open-pyramidal growth habit. The male (pollen) parent of the new cultivar is unknown, but presumed to be ‘Sheridan Spire’, not patented, characterized by its bright green foliage, with upward pointed limbs and vigorous, narrow-columnar growth habit. The new cultivar was discovered and selected as a single seedling within the progeny of the above stated open-pollination. The plant was selected for its compact form and foliage color in the fall of 2008 in a controlled environment in Seneca, S.C.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal stem cuttings since February 2012 in Seneca, S.C. and West Grove, Pa. has demonstrated that the new cultivar reproduces true to type with all of the characteristics, as herein described, firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of such asexual propagation.